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The Daily Dish December 27, 2007 Andrew Sullivan writes about his pending wedding, "My old friend and marriage advocate Evan Wolfson reassured me as well: You're supposed to be in a zombie-state till the beauty of it breaks through.' Are zombies nervous? They never seem to be. They just stagger forward. Oh, well. Here goes ..."[Link]

The Bay Area ReporterDecember 20, 2007With an estimated six-month window of opportunity until the California Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision in the same-sex marriage case, advocates with the statewide Let California Ring campaign are urging community members to step up activity in an effort to move public opinion in their direction. "The challenge to us in California is: will we use every day between now and the summer to make the same powerful case for the freedom to marry in the court of public opinion," Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, told the Bay Area Reporter during an interview last week. "The clock is ticking."[Link]

Washington BladeDecember 19, 2007Activists are gearing up to oppose the proposed Florida anti-marriage amendment. While some express hope that non-gay retirees will believe the amendment will harm them, Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson advises activists to explicitly support marriage equality with a steady drumbeat of local faces and voices. Wolfson said opponents of the amendment must make it clear to Floridians that the fight isn't about lofty ideological arguments, but that, if approved, the amendment will hurt same-sex couples and their children in practical, everyday ways.[Link]

Washington BladeDecember 18, 2007New analyses show that local same-sex couples often earn less than married men and women. According to data recently released by the University of California’s Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation, married couples trump same-sex couples in nine of 16 categorical salary comparisons. Gary Gates, a Williams Institute senior research fellow, said the analyses “break down some very common stereotypes” of gays. “Same-sex couples are much more diverse than I think our media presentations would indicate,” he said. [Link]

WCCODecember 14, 2007It doesn't matter if you're gay or straight, you can't get legally married at Lyndale United Church of Christ. The small, liberal church in south Minneapolis was the first of several Twin Cities congregations last year to stop performing civil marriage ceremonies as long as gay marriage is illegal. These churches, and a handful of others around the country that took the same step, will still hold a religious ceremony to bless the unions of straight and gay couples -- but straight couples must go separately to a judge or justice of the peace for the marriage license. "If you feel that gay and lesbian people are loved and credited by God, then how can we continue to discriminate against our brothers and sisters?" asked Rev. Don Portwood, the reserved Nebraska native who's been lead pastor at the 120-member Lyndale United Church of Christ for 27 years. [link]

Bay WindowsDecember 6, 2007The magnitude of winning marriage equality in Massachusetts was best summed up at MassEquality's Dec. 5 victory gala by Evan Wolfson, the eternally optimistic head of the national organization Freedom to Marry. Standing onstage in the center of the Cyclorama in the South End, Wolfson praised the work of the army of marriage equality activists that surrounded him, raised an arm in victory and proclaimed, "We are one down, forty-nine to go!"[Link]

PlanetOutNovember 26, 2007Freedom to Marry executive director Evan Wolfson affirmed the conclusion that marriage remains the only solution for gay and lesbian couples. "The creation of a separate state-level legal status, whether called civil union or partnership, unnecessarily complicates the lives of the families and the businesses and others they deal with. The easiest and right solution is to end exclusion from marriage itself, rather than constructing new legal mechanisms that present equal treatment and inclusion." [Link]

365Gay.comNovember 24, 2007The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce is the latest to call for the end of excluding same-sex couples and their families from marriage in California. "Eliminating marriage discrimination in California would send a message that California promotes acceptance and equality, thus enhancing the ability of California businesses to compete nationwide for top talent," the brief stated. [Link]

Times Argus November 20, 2007Joseph Gainza of Marshfield talked about how straight Vermonters, including him, noticed that the sky did not fall down after the Vermont Legislature legalized civil unions for same-sex couples seven years ago. "The change came and you realized that nothing in your life has changed," said Gainza. "The only difference is that your neighbors have some rights they didn't have. And none of your own rights were taken away in the process." [link]

Petrelis FilesNovember 20, 2007WY State Republican representative Dan Zwonitzer is mounting a campaign for the U.S. House. Zwonitzer caught the attention of marriage advocates when he gave a stirring speech in favor of marriage equality in February. After his speech, he received expressions of support from around the country. [Link]